The authors have created a reproducible laparoscope holder that is 150 euros less expensive, which can be used to perform laparoscopic radical prostatectomy and sacral colpopexy with a single assistant and four free hands. One hundred and sixteen procedures were performed with this original, compact and easy to use apparatus. The characteristics of this scope holder allow mobilization of the camera in three dimensions and maintenance of a fixed image after positioning. This laparoscope holder provides an economic solution that can be used in all laparoscopy units and which liberates the assistant’s two hands.

To review the various clinical forms of female urethral cancer in the light of three clinical cases with a review of the corresponding treatment guidelines.

Method

The authors report three cases of female urethral cancer. Case 1 consisted of squamous cell carcinoma in a 56-year-old woman with no particular history. Case 2 was a urothelial tumour arising in a urethral diverticulum in a 60-year-old smoker. Case 3 was a 69-year-old woman patient with invasive urothelial carcinoma.

Results

Case 1 was treated by segmental urethrectomy with no adjuvant therapy and a favourable course. Case 2 was treated by anterior pelvic exenteration with no adjuvant therapy. This patient relapsed in the form of peritoneal carcinomatosis two years later and died. Case 3 was initially treated by anterior pelvic exenteration followed by a chemoradiotherapy combination after local recurrence with a favourable course.

Conclusion

There are many clinical presentations and histological forms of female urethral cancer. Localized distal lesions can be treated by simple circumferential resection. The treatment of other lesions comprises anterior pelvic exenteration and platinum- or M-VAC-based chemoradiotherapy. The main prognostic factors for these tumours are their size, histological type, site and the presence of pelvic lymph node extension.

The authors present six cases of renal carcinoma associated with MiTF/TFE translocation in young adults. This tumour is one of the newly identified entities of the WHO 2004 classification.

Materials

Six patients with MiTF/TFE translocation were identified in a series of 636 adults operated between 2001 and 2005. The diagnosis was based on cytogenetic analysis and immunohistochemistry (IHC) in three patients and IHC alone in the other three patients.

Results

Four women and two men between the ages of 28 and 42 years presented a tumour with a mean diameter of 6cm (range: 3–15cm). The TNM classification of these tumours was pT1N0 (n=2), pT2N0 (n=1), pT3aN+M0 (n=1), and pT3aN+M+ (n=2). The mean follow-up was 32 months. One M+ patient died six months after the operation, another two pT3 patients developed metastatic disease and pT1 or pT2 patients were alive without recurrence. The histological features comprised a typical papillary architecture with large eosinophil and/or clear cells. IHC showed TFE3 (n=5) or TFEB (n=1) expression. Cytogenetic analysis demonstrated a t (X;1)(p11.2;p34) or t (X;17)(p11.2;q25) translocation in two patients expressing TFE3 and a t (6;11)(p21; q13) translocation in the patient expressing TFEB.

Conclusion

Renal carcinoma associated with MiTF/TFE translocation can be diagnosed by IHC. However, cytogenetic analysis on fresh or frozen material allows characterization of the translocation and should be performed on all renal tumours in young adults. Prognosis is related to stage. In the future, the diagnosis of more cases of this type of carcinoma will allow more precise definition of the clinicopathological profile and the most appropriate management.

Prospective evaluation of the short-, medium- and long-term efficacy of the “ABDO-MG® concept” technique in the rehabilitation of urinary incontinence following radical prostatectomy (abdominal or laparoscopic approach).

Methodology

Fifty-three patients suffering from clinical urinary stress or triple incontinence (pure stress incontinence, incontinence due to bladder instability or sphincteric insufficiency) took part in the study. Rehabilitation treatment, begun six weeks before the operation, continued during the immediate postoperative period, at home and at the physiotherapist’s office for three to 12 months until the urinary incontinence had disappeared or was considered to be minimal and acceptable, therefore tolerated. The exercises were performed according to a strict protocol defined by the inventor of the concept, involving expiration into a specific end-piece (called “sound end-piece”) and connection with an abdominal neurostimulator for which the current is triggered and maintained by the sound of the patient’s breathing into the sound end-piece. The efficacy of this concept was confirmed by a comparative trial before and during rehabilitation and then at the end of treatment. There was triple monitoring: evaluation by LFT noting, for each breath, the flowrate/volume curve and FEV1/s, clinical abdominal testing with monitoring of abdominal movement both vertically and horizontally during coughing and a “pad test” at home, assessing the quantity of nocturnal and diurnal urinary leakage relative to each patient’s activity.

Results

The results were meaningful and significant. The improvement of the flowrate/volume curve and FEV1/s varied between 1.4436 and 1.1209L. Abdominal testing showed constant positive evolution in the correction of abdominal incompetence under stress (test improved by one point on a negative graduation of −1 to −3). The home “pad test” confirmed a highly significant result with leakage virtually disappearing, sometimes falling from nearly 800 cc to just a few drops at the end of treatment. The subjective results were marked by the improvement in various dysfunctions within the context of abdominal incompetence increased by the abdominal surgery.

Conclusion

This prospective study was the first to provide an evaluation of the abdominal motor score and the relationship between expiration thrust and pelviperitoneal protection.

Retroperitoneal laparoscopy is a recent alternative to conventional surgical treatment of ureterolithiasis. The objective of this study was to evaluate the place of retroperitoneal laparoscopic ureterolithotomy.

Material and methods

The authors report 50 cases of retroperitoneal laparoscopy for lumbar ureter stones performed in 49 patients between January 2001 and December 2006. The indications were a very large (>15mm) obstructive stone in the lumbar ureter in 88% of cases, failure of extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) in 6% of cases and refusal of ESWL in 6% of cases.

Results

The mean stone diameter was 17mm (range: 10–35mm). The stone was removed by retroperitoneal laparoscopy in 46 out of 50 cases (92%). The mean operating time was 97min. (range: 35–170min.). The surgical conversion rate was 8%. Ten patients (20%) developed a urinary fistula requiring secondary drainage by double J ureteric stent. The mean hospital stay was 6.8 days. No cases of ureteric stenosis or kidney destruction was observed with a mean follow-up of 32 months.

Conclusion

Retroperitoneal laparoscopic lumbar ureterolithotomy is a safe, effective and minimally invasive technique which could constitute an alternative to open ureterolithotomy in the majority of its current indications.

Xanthogranulomatous pyelonephritis is a rare form of chronic pyelonephritis, which frequently has a pseudotumoral appearance, as a result of which differential diagnosis with malignant renal neoplasia is difficult, especially as there are no specific signs of this lesion. The aim of this article is to notice the various histological, clinical and radiological characteristics, and the different modalities of diagnostic and treatment of this affection.

Vulvar localisation of schistosomiasis is a rare presentation. We report a case of a woman of 20years old hospitalised for a vulvar mass of six months. That mass progressively increased in volume and was tender. It was accompanied by frequency and dysuria. The patient had a history of swimming in fresh water and hematuria when she was eight years old.

Initial clinical examination found a good general state, there was a mass involving the clitoris and the small lips. This painless mass had a cauliflower appearance and was soft with a large implantation. Pathology exam of the mass revealed a vulvar schistosomiasis with an important amount of living eggs.

A tumour removal with a plasty of small lips was performed. Additionally, praziquantel was administered orally.

Vulvar localisation of schistosomiasis might suggest a malignant tumour. Only pathological examination can assess the diagnosis.

PCA3 gene has been discovered in 1999 because of its differential expression between prostate cancer and nonneoplastic tissue. Several studies evaluated its value for prostate cancer diagnosis. These papers are consistent with significant statistical accuracy of measure of the urinary number of PCA3 copies (PCA3 test). While sensitivity is slightly weaker than that of seric PSA, specificity as well as positive and negative predictive values are quite better. PCA3 test seems therefore to be a good indicator of prostate biopsy results. As a commercial kit is available, large studies will be conducted to confirm these results, precise when to perform the test and evaluate the benefit/cost ratio. One of the aims is better selection of those patients who will really benefit from prostate biopsies.

To evaluate the functional and cancer results of radical prostatectomy with bladder neck preservation in the treatment of localized prostate cancer.

Material and method

From January 2000 to March 2006, 194 consecutive patients underwent open retropubic radical prostatectomy for localized prostate cancer. The bladder neck was technically preserved in 180 patients (93%). The mean age of these 180 patients was 63.2±6.1 years. The mean preoperative PSA was 9.38±6ng/ml. The 180 patients were classified according to the Amico prognostic classification as low risk: 52.2%, intermediate risk: 37.8% and high risk: 10%. Operative specimens were examined by the same pathologist according to the Stanford technique. Positive surgical margin was defined as tumour tissue in contact with the ink of the operative specimen. For analysis of the functional results, patients were classified into three categories: continent without protection, stress incontinent, totally incontinent. Continence was evaluated at D10, one month, six months, one, two, three, four and five years. The mean follow-up was 44±25 months.

Results

This series of 180 operative specimens comprised 64 (35.6%) cases of positive surgical margins and 112 (62.2%) pT3 cancers. No positive margins were observed in the bladder neck, either alone or associated with another positive margin. Seventy-one percent of patients were continent on D10 and at one month, 85% were continent at six months and 89% were continent at one year. Two cases of anastomotic stenosis were observed (1.2%).

Conclusion

Bladder neck preservation during open retropubic radical prostatectomy allows early continence in more than 70% of cases without increasing the risk of positive surgical margins.

Urolithiasis appears to be associated with several cardiovascular risk factors (excess salt and animal proteins, hypertension, metabolic syndrome) and, more recently, the development of stroke. The authors describe the frequency of cardiovascular risk factors and cardiovascular events before and after management of urolithiasis.

Method

The authors retrospectively collected data from patients born before 1956 and managed surgically or instrumentally for urolithiasis in our establishment in 1994 concerning the frequency of cardiovascular risk factors and the incidence of acute coronary syndrome, stroke or acute lower limb ischaemia before or after treatment of urolithiasis.

Results

Data were obtained for 33 patients, revealing 12 events including five previous events (four cases of acute coronary syndrome, one ischaemic stroke) and seven subsequent events (five cases of acute coronary syndrome with one death, one ischaemic stroke, one case of acute lower limb ischaemia) an average of 5.7 years after management. These 33 patients had an average of more than two risk factors.

Conclusion

This retrospective study based on a small sample size demonstrated a high frequency of risk factors and cardiovascular events. This correlation needs to be studied in more detail. Urolithiasis could constitute an indirect cardiovascular risk factor dependent on “classical” risk factors, suggesting the need for integrated management of stone patients, in the same way as for patients with erectile dysfunction.

Radical prostatectomy is not currently a recommended treatment modality for patients with preoperative PSA greater than 40ng/ml.

Objectives

To evaluate the specific and overall long-term survival of patients operated despite a PSA greater than 40ng/ml and to describe the adjuvant treatments associated with the surgical procedure.

Materials

From 1988 to 1998, 32 consecutive patients with a mean age of 65 years (range: 46–73) underwent retropubic radical prostatectomy. The preoperative work-up (abdominopelvic CT scan, bone scintigraphy) were all interpreted as being normal. All patients had lymph node dissection. Progression was defined by PSA greater than or equal to 0.2ng/ml or the appearance of metastases.

Results

The mean follow-up was 117 months (range: 2–177). Six patients were alive without progression, and five of them had received adjuvant radiotherapy. Twelve patients were alive with biological progression after second- or third-line treatment. Three patients had died from their cancer and 12 had died from another cause. With a mean follow-up of 10 years, the specific survival of patients operated for high PSA was 80% and the overall survival was 56% with a progression-free survival of 18.7%.

Conclusion

In rigorously selected patients, radical prostatectomy for high PSA possibly associated with adjuvant radiotherapy can achieve satisfactory prostate cancer control at 10 years for almost 20% of N0M0 patients.

Two landmark multi-centre trials, MTOPS and PCPT, have shown that finasteride is an effective treatment of micturitional disorders due to benign prostatic hyperplasia, reducing the clinical progression of BPH. The MTOPS trial showed for the first time the medium term benefit which patients could obtain with combined treatment in reducing the risks of the symptoms aggravating, urinary retention, surgery, renal failure, infection and incontinence. The PCPT trial showed finasteride to be beneficial in reducing the clinical progression of BPH. These trials defined risk factors for progression: PSA concentration over 1.6 ng/ml, prostate volume over 31 ml, urine output less than 10.6 ml/sec, age over 62 years old and post-micturitional residual volume of more than 39 ml. A 19% reduction in prostatic volume was also seen at 4.5 years on finastéride compared to a 24% increase on placebo. According to recommendations, the use of combined treatment is reserved for patients with moderate to severe urinary disorders after failure of first line monotherapy.

Deciding on a health policy in practice means dedicating human and financial resources and prioritising spendings. The economic evaluation of prevention strategies attempts to establish a relationship between the medical benefit of prevention and its additional cost (or in some cases cost reduction) compared to no prevention. Decisions on reimbursing drugs, interventions or funding health programmes do not usually follow efficiency criteria which define economic rationality. Politics may for example decide to make prostate cancer a public health priority if mortality in a country or in some regions of the country appears to be excessively high. Economic rationality alone is not an appropriate factor on which to base a decision which may be purely political, reflecting the actual values of the society at a given point in time.

The aim of the PCPT trial was to compare the incidence of prostate cancer in men treated with finasteride or placebo. The study protocol contains some methodological difficulties. Solutions were adopted designed to minimise damaging bias which could have incorrectly suggested that finasteride was beneficial, or masked a benefit of the drug. As finastéride reduced PSA by an average of 50% the PSA values were interpreted against a new threshold to provide as many biopsies in the finasteride arm as in the placebo arm. In view of the reduction in gland volume, the biopsy protocol was modified to prioritise lateral peripheral cores. Patient adherence to treatment in the finasteride arm and contamination of the placebo arm by people taking finasteride retrospectively after randomisation were taken into account. The increase in sensitivity of rectal examination and in the number of prostatic resections in the placebo arm were also two sources of bias in favour of finasteride. The different envisaged sources of bias were analysed and plans were adopted to manage these wherever possible. Analysis of the sources of bias led to the conclusion that systematic end of trial biopsies constituted the most robust end point.

The PCPT trial is the first phase III trial with the principal objective of examining the hypothesis that the use of chemoprevention could prevent the development of prostate cancer. This is a large scale randomised clinical trial comparing finasteride (5-⍺ reductase inhibitor) to placebo. A total of 18,882 men aged 55 years old or above with unremarkable rectal examination and serum PSA below 3 ng/ml were randomised between daily treatment with 5 mg of finasteride or placebo for 7 years. The incidence of prostate cancer diagnosed by biopsy was 24.4% in the placebo group compared to 18.4% in the finasteride group. The incidence of high Gleason grade cancers (7-10) in the finasteride group (6.4%) appeared to be higher than in the placebo group (5.1%) although it was subsequently shown that these results were not significant. Sexual adverse effects were more common in the finasteride group and urinary symptoms were more common in the placebo group than in the finasteride group. The volumes of prostates treated with finasteride were reduced by 24% compared to the placebo arm. It does not therefore appear at present appropriate to give finasteride to prevent the development of prostate cancer until more detailed results are available about the nature of the cancers which may possibly have been detected or avoided.

The PCPT (Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial) trial which compared 5 mg/d of finastéride to placebo in men over 55 years old showed that active treatment reduced the incidence of prostate cancer from 24.4 to 18.4%. Paradoxically, the incidence of high grade cancers (Gleason score ≥ 7) was higher in the finasteride group (6.4%) than in the placebo group (5.1%). Histological interpretation of the radical prostatectomy specimens showed an overestimation of Gleason score on biopsy both in the finasteride and placebo group. The high grade cancers on total prostatectomy specimens were not more aggressive in the finasteride arm than in the placebo arm. There is no argument to suggest that long term finasteride may promote the development of highly aggressive cancer. Urologists must clearly be aware that finasteride treatment may result in morphological changes in order to inform the pathologist that this drug is being taken. If a prostate cancer with a Gleason score ≥ 7 is diagnosed in a treated patient, the pathologist will perform a double reading of the slides to confirm the score.

Chemoprevention involves the active use of a drug inhibiting carcinogenesis in order to prevent the development of cancer. Prostate cancer has a high prevalence, long latent period and screening is inadequate. The morbidity and mortality of prostate cancer are significant, making it a good candidate for chemoprevention. Finasteride meets most of the necessary criteria for a chemoprevention agent. Nevertheless, some further information still needs to be obtained before considering its use in practice: the real nature of the increase in Gleason score, envisaged health savings, side effects on sexuality, impact on patient survival and the ideal target population.

The following conclusions can be made on the practical follow up of a patient receiving finasteride in screening for prostate cancer from an analysis of the literature and, particularly, the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial (PCPT). Prostate volume fells by an average of 17 to 19%. The average fall in PSA after one year of finastéride treatment was 50%. This fall continued over time, at an average of 5% per year. An adjustment factor of × 2 at 1 year was used to return to a PSA value of a group of untreated men. The ratios of free PSA/total PSA and complexed PSA/total PSA remained unchanged and were interpreted as usual. The risk of cancer was low if the PSA fell by ≥ 50% and raised if it fell by < 33%. Prostate cancer was associated with an average 15% rise in PSA on finasteride. This change still needs to be validated. The sensitivity of PSA and rectal examination was greater in detecting all grades of cancer in people receiving finasteride than on placebo. These findings have the benefit of reducing the indications for biopsy during follow up. Finasteride does not appear to cause high grade cancers. Despite the 25% reduction in the risk of cancer on finasteride there was insufficient information, particularly on the impact on mortality to allow chemoprevention to be proposed. Patients started on finasteride to treat BPH must be informed of the possible benefits, side effects and follow up arrangements to screen for prostate cancer.